Cold Reunion
by ChefMKT
Summary: A few months have passed after the fall of SethRah. Ein and Serene decide to visit Elendia to meet up with some old friends, but evil is afoot. What lies in store for the heroes of Riviera, and who is this mysterious foe they face? ExS Pairing.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Riviera characters, although I wish I did...

_Author's notes:_ I managed to get around in editting the story as some of the people have suggested. Less names, more pronouns. That's about it really. Honest. Also, thanks to everyone who has reviewed.

* * *

A few months have passed after the fall of Seth-Rah. Ein and Serene had traveled across many lands in order to eradicate all the demons from Riviera. But for now, Ein and Serene had decided to rest in Elendia. It was now a very peaceful village, with the others now watching over it for any disturbances. As Ein and Serene walked towards Elendia, they were greeted by Lina, who was playing hide and seek with Gill and Molan. 

"Ein! Lina is happy to see you!" she cried out.

"Hmm? Why aren't you happy to see me?" Serene abruptly questioned.

"Serene is a meanie that's why!" Lina stuck her tongue out at Serene before quickly joining Molan and Gill.

"Some things never change here, do they Ein?" Serene asked.

"I guess not." he replied.

"Hmm, that reminds me, about Lina being one year older than Fia, is it true?" she questioned.

"I've wondered about that myself." sighed Ein, "Maybe we should go ask Fia."

The light breeze rustled the green leaves of the nearby trees as Ein and Serene headed to Fia's house. They saw Fia at a window and called out to her. Fia's eyes opened up when she had heard the familiar voices and waved to them. She quickly went outside to greet them.

"Ein! Serene! You're back!" She gave Ein a friendly hug but Serene was watching, unamused by the situation.

"Fia..." she started.

"Yes, Serene?" Fia replied.

"About Lina's age..." Serene's question however, was interrupted by a loud explosion. "Let me guess, Cierra caused that?"

"It appears so, we better check it out." she replied.

The three of them hurried to the Crystal Caverns where they suspected the explosion had originated. As they approched the Crystal Caverns, smoke was emitting out of the cave's mouth. The scene was chaotic as Soala and Claude tried to save their books whilst Ritz had been gathering buckets of water to put out the fire. As Ein, Serene and Fia went inside, Cierra spotted them and waved with an innocent smile. Serene glared at Cierra and pointed out to Ein that Cierra should be helping to put out the fire she had started and Fia agreed. The news quickly spread of Ein and Serene's visit. Everyone was happy to see them and eventually, a welcoming party was organised.

The night was blanketed with stars that twinkled brightly, and a soft breeze made it the ideal weather for an outdoor party.  
The meat was somehow cooked by Cierra without any sudden outbursts of fire and salads prepared by Fia. Everyone was having a good old time. Ein and Serene were telling stories of their travels and everyone was absorbed into the tales and adventures the duo had. One story had involved the two which were by the names of Fool and Sage. Ein had told everyone that they had changed their ways and were now getting along with the undines and helping out wherever they could. Before too long, it was midnight and the party had ended. When everyone had gone home, it was only the five of them left. Accommodations were somehow arranged for the five of them to fit into Fia's house. As soon as Ein walked in he saw his old friend, Rose. Rose was sitting in a corner, sleeping. Cierra told Ein that Gateau had been sleeping whenever she saw Gateau. Ein was just about to ask her if she had given Rose another potion when Fia told them that Ein and Serene were to sleep with Lina in her room.

Ein and Serene looked at each other, then at Lina. They sighed to themselves and wondered how they ever got to be in this situation. The trio were sitting down on the floor, wondering what to do. Serene quickly spotted a few applecots hanging from a nearby tree. She quickly picked them off the tree and gave them to Lina in exchange to sleep in Fia's room. Lina happily accepted and had quickly left the room to invade Fia's room. The full moon was high up in the sky, its light bathed the room. Serene and Ein held hands and looked out the window to gaze upon the beautiful night sky. The bright stars littered the sky and Serene gently put her head on Ein's shoulder. At this moment, Ein froze instantly and did not know what to do next. He was a bright red but luckily, Serene was half asleep and she didn't see his face. Hesitatingly, he placed his arm around Serene's shoulder. Both of them were standing there for a while, soaking in the romantic atmosphere. Ein noticed Serene's was now snoring softly, so he gingerly placed her in Lina's bed. He took her scythe and placed it by Lina's shelf of stuffed toys. Smiling to himself, Ein lied down on the temporary bed but was taken by surprise as Rose entered the room.

"Ein! I'm so glad to see you!" she whispered.

"Rose? You can talk now?" he questioned.

"Indeed, but don't let anyone else know. I don't want Cierra giving me more of that potion..." Rose said. Ein laughed to himself but quickly stopped as soon as Rose glared at him.

"How have you been Rose? Cierra had said you have been sleeping a lot." he quickly asked.

"I've been writing a book, about the adventures we had. It's something I've always wanted to do. But as you can see, if Cierra sees me writing, I don't think she'll ever leave me alone. Anyway, good night Ein, and it was nice to see you again."

As Ein lied in bed, he replayed the moment when Malice had taken Serene in order to sacrifice both herself and Serene in order to summon Seth. He wondered what it felt like, to experience death. Looking to his left, he watched Serene, sleeping there in a calm and peaceful state. His thoughts then moved to Ledah. A tear leaked from his eye as Ein wiped it away with his sleeve. That Malice, why would she obey Hector? Who could ever so such things and still say that what they are doing is the right thing to do. He now began to realise why Serene hated Malice so much and why she swore to avenge the Arcs if the two ever crossed paths again, wherever that may be. Many other thoughts had crossed his mind but most of them faded as Ein slowly drifted into a slumber. The night was filled with calm noises; crickets chirping, a soft hooting of an owl. Ein suddenly awoke, sensing an evil presence. As soon as he sat up, he was blinded by a bright blue light when he had opened his eyes. Struggling to find the source of this eerie light, he put his hand in front of his face. Looking around the room, he noticed that Serene was still sleeping. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the brightness, the light had subsided quickly. Ein wondered what it was but it seemed that there was now no trace of the evil presence.

Dawn broke and the sun's light was seeping through the window of Lina's room. Serene and Ein were already awake, getting ready to leave Elendia to eradicate the demons at Rosalina Island. Serene went to the bathroom and Ein went downstairs. Fia was also awake, making breakfast. As soon as Fia set Ein's plate down, she whispered to him,

"Did you feel that evil presence last night?"

Ein replied, "I did, but I don't know what it was, or where it came from, though."

As Serene floated down the stairs, Fia offered her some breakfast but she declined. Ein had managed to only take a few bites as Serene called out to him to get moving. Fia waved Ein and Serene goodbye as they hastily traveled towards the Magic Circle located in the Crystal Caverns. The duo spotted Cierra reading some ancient memos which were found at Tetyth when they went there to seal the Accursed; Arch Angel. Ein and Serene stepped into the magic circle and found themselves at Rosalina Island in a blinding flash of light.

The magic circle took them to Wilheim's Bluff and were greeted warmly. A pack of sleeping Viper Ratchets had awoken upon their arrival. Their jaws lined with jagged teeth and let loose a piercing howl. Ein and Serene drew their weapons and jumped into the pack. Clutching his diviner, Einherjar, Ein swung his sword across his body, downing several of the demons in a single strike. He quickly turned his head towards Serene's direction. Her scythe glowed a hue of blue as she swung her scythe gracefully, but also powerfully, wiping out the rest of the demons. As soon as Serene had struck down the demons, he felt the same evil presence as last night. He was about to question Serene if she felt the evil presence when Serene had interjected.

"Ein, could you go get some medicinal herbs? I need to do something." she asked.

"...Sure thing." He replied.

Ein walked away to gather some herbs leaving Serene alone with the pack of defeated demons. Her scythe glowed a mysterious blue again. Minutes passed when Ein had returned. He noticed that the corpses of the demons were gone. He figured that Serene disposed of them in order to not attract the attention of other demons in the area. She told him to keep the herbs for later on and they both headed towards Lacrima Castle.

The sunlight mysteriously turned into moonlight as they approached Lacrima Castle. Its light bathed the stone floor and at the same time, casting shadows along the ground as if it were some kind of painting. Ein thought to himself that it was a beautiful place and wondered what Serene was feeling to be back here. He looked ahead seeing that she was also looking at the surroundings. Ein had that this would be a good time to express his true feelings to Serene, out in the open. He knew that Serene knew how he felt, but it pained Ein that he didn't have enough courage to tell her that he loved her. Ein suggested to take a break and she reluctantly agreed. They sat down by the well which was filled with rain water. Ein was busy mixing the herbs to form a potion which Fia had taught him. He had finally finished and decided to look at the nearby flowers. He was about to ask Serene what they were when he turned his head around to find that she was missing. Quickly standing up, he drew his diviner. He called out to Serene but all he heard was the fainting echo of his own voice. Panicking, he followed the stone path hoping to find Serene wandering Lacrima Castle, but to no avail.

Images ran through his mind of horrible events which could have happened. Even a surprise attack by a group could take down even the strongest. Ein's footsteps had come to a sudden halt when he heard a loud piercing shriek. He quickly ran towards the source of the sound, stumbling through the thick bushes and across the stoned pathways. As he approached one of the towers of the castle, he saw a shadow which resembled that of a vampire. Drawing his diviner, Ein was ready attack when the figure disappeared, laughing evilly. Gripping his Diviner even tighter, he put his free hand onto a nearby pillar. He wanted to cry out, but had lost his voice. Collapsing to the grund, he had feared for the worst when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder.

"Hmm, did you miss me?" a voice said playfully. Ein turned around to see the vampire grinning menacingly, poised to strike.

"What have you done with Serene?" He questioned in an angered tone.

"Ooh, you mean that blue haired girl with the wings? My sisters should have taken care of her by now." The vampire laughed.

Ein had lost all hope and sank to the ground, awaiting the blow which would end it all. Tears were now abundant, pouring down his face and onto the hard stone floor.

"No!" Ein thought, "This can't be happening!"

"You're no fun, you're not even gonna put up a fight." giggled the vampire.

The vampire was about to deliver the blow when suddenly, the vampire screamed in pain and vanished in a puff of blue smoke.  
As he looked up, he saw Serene. Her eyes glared at him, piercing through him like daggers.

"Ein! What are you doing! You could've easily taken her on!" she shouted.

"Serene! You're ok!" said a relieved Ein.

"Well, I ran into some demons while I was wandering around..." replied Serene.

Ein was about to hug Serene when he noticed that her scythe was now glowing a bright blue, the same blue which he saw last night. He was about to tell her the whole story when a rustle in the bushes broke his speech. Demons appeared from the bushes and now surrounded them from all directions. Ein was about to draw his diviner when he felt something hard struck against his head. He turned to see that it was Serene who did it and now his vision was fading fast. He fell down onto the hard, stone floor, unconscious. The demons lunged at Serene but she easily fended them off. She was now enclosed in a circle of demons, ready to launch their next attack. A cold wind then started blowing furiously. The leaves of the trees, hanging onto the branch of the tree as hard as it could. The demons felt this cold wind and struggled to stay upright. Serene gripped her scythe to her side, ready to swing. Suddenly, a magic circle appeared beneath the demons. The wind picked up even more and now the demons, confused and terrified, tried to flee. Their attempts were futile as they could not escape the magic circle which now trapped them.

"Nightmare Chill!" shouted Serene.

She swung her scythe with great power and all the demons were engulfed in dark flames. The demons howled in pain trying to get away, but alas, they could not escape. The deafening howls had awakened Ein who was now watching what Serene was doing.  
The evil presence was now clear to him. This presence he felt before. Ein looked around him to see the demons disappear, one by one in a blue flame, vanquishing them. The cold grip of death had claimed the souls of the demons and were now resting in Serene's scythe.

At Elendia, it was peaceful as usual. Fia was humming to herself while cleaning her room from Lina's invasion. As she walked out of her room and down the hall, she noticed a glimmer in the bathroom. Curious, she peered into the bathroom and noticed the shiny object which rested on the bathroom table. On a closer inspection, she noticed it was a small hard object which was attached to a chain. As she touched the object with her hand, she felt a cold, freezing wind come into the room. Fia instantly pulled her hand away, sensing a bad omen. As she took a closer inspection on the object, she instantly recognised what the object was. Quickly grabbing it in her left hand, she bolted to her room, grabbing her rapier, Rosier. She ran as fast as she could to the magic guild where she suspected Cierra was situated, and hopefully Lina was nearby. As she was running, images were forming in her mind of torment and pain by some evil spirit which hungered for revenge. Fia finally reached the magic guild where she spotted Cierra and Lina. Lina was happily eating her applecots and playing with Rose whilst Cierra was conducting another magical experiment. As soon as Fia stepped into the room, both of them looked towards a panting Fia.

"What's wrong Fia?" questioned Lina.

"Ein is in danger! We have to find him!" shouted Fia.

"What are you talking about Fia?" Lina questioned again.

"Serene's pendant, I found it in the bathroom. When I touched it, I felt a cold wind, evil infact. It felt like the cold winds of death, and besides, Serene would never leave her pendant behind! I think she was trying to warn us." Fia explained.

"If that's how you feel Fia, then we should go." Cierra said. "You're never wrong when it comes to these things."

The trio grabbed whatever supplies and weapons they could get on such short notice and headed to the Magic Circle.

Ein gasped as the scythe glowed a hideous blue from feeding on the souls of the demons. As Serene turned around to look at Ein, she pointed her scythe agressively at him.

"Now Angel, it is your turn!" shouted Serene.

She dashed at Ein, gaining enough speed to hover centimeters above the ground. As she got closer to Ein, her speed was increasing. Ein quickly drew his diviner and blocked the oncoming blow from Serene. The force from the blow had sent him skidding away a few meters before finally stopping.

"...It's you." started Ein.

"Yes, it is I." replied Serene.

"The Accursed." said Ein, "The Grim Reaper, Death."

Serene lunged at Ein with another swing but Ein quickly rolled to the side escaping the attack. Her eyes were now a glowing an evil red.

"Isn't it ironic, Angel? You are about to be killed by your loved one, and yet, you fear that you will hurt her if you try to stop me." taunted Death.

"Shut up!" Ein shouted.

Serene charged at Ein and attacked furiously with blow after blow from her scythe. Ein managed to block each blow but he was felt the amount of power after each attack was growing stronger. His hand was becoming numb from the sheer force of each swing.

"Give it up, Angel. You know you can not beat me. Maybe I should ease your pain by letting your friends join you!"

Serene took flight and headed towards Wilheim's Bluff. Ein looked down at his trembling hand which had been holding Einherjar and he knew that Death was right. There was no way he could take on someone with such power without hurting Serene in the process. His mind quickly changed course as he soon realised that Serene was going to annihilate Cierra, Fia and Lina. He desperately ran as fast as the wind to try to warn the others.

Fia, Cierra and Lina had emerged from the magic circle at Wilheim's Bluff and were hurrying to find Ein and Serene. A cold wind rushed past as Serene was seen standing on top of a cliff, her short, blue hair flowing with the wind.

"Serene! Are you alright?" Fia asked.

"I am, but Ein isn't. He's in trouble! We have to hurry, he's at Lacrima Castle." Serene replied.

"Okay! Let's go!" everyone shouted.

Serene snickered to herself and purposely stayed behind the others whilst they tried to find Ein. The four of them had arrived at Lacrima Castle and they saw a shadowy figure in the distance, crossing the Shadow Bridge.

"Ein! You're ok!" shouted Fia.

"...Behind you!" Ein's voice echoed.

Cierra, Fia and Lina turned around quickly and had barely dodged Serene's surprise attack.

"Serene was possessed by the Accursed! Be careful!" he warned.

"It is too late Angel, you shall now watch your friends die!" exclaimed Death, "Grave Chill!"

A magic circle appeared beneath Cierra, Fia and Lina. Serene held her scythe to her side, poised to ready the final blow. The three of them desperately tried to escape the magic circle, but they were imprisoned within the confines of the magical barrier.

"I have no choice." Ein thought, "Serene, I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"This is the will of the gods...Disaresta!" he shouted.

Ein had appeared instantly in front of Serene and dealt blow after blow with his holy blade. Serene, taken aback by the surprise attack, kneeled to the ground.

"Not bad Angel, but you were holding back." said Death, "This pathetic body has reached its limit anyway. I have now collected enough souls to form my own body!"

Serene cried in pain as a dark spirit escaped from Serene's body and shaped itself into its former glory of the Accursed. Serene collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Lina will get us out!" Lina shouted. She readied her arrow in her bow and let it fly. As the arrow reached the edge of the circle however, it disappeared.

"It seems, this is some type of magical barrier to prevent us from escaping." Cierra said.

"If that's the case..." Fia said, "We have to at least help Serene, and I think I know how. Ein! Catch!"

Fia threw Serene's pendant at the barrier. Upon contact of the barrier, the pendant struggled to get through. Energy was radiating where it had hit the barrier but it managed to get through. Ein caught it by the chain with his left hand. He quickly took the freshly made potion he made out of his pocket and forced the contents down Serene's throat. Ein hoped that the potion would work, but in the mean time, he had to delay the Accursed from harming the others. As Ein got up, Death was swinging his scythe in mid air, as if it were some sort of exercise and admiring himself.

"Now where were we?" questioned Death, "Oh yes, I was about to destroy all of you!"

"We've beaten you once, we can do it again!" shouted Ein.

He surged towards Death with his diviner in hand but Death easily dodged the measly attack. The Grim Reaper swung his scythe and wounded Ein in the back. Ein, wincing in pain from the coldness of the wound, staggered to the ground. Death took another swing but Ein evaded the attack and countered with multiple blows. Ein was on the offensive driving Death into a wall. Death was unamused by this and quickly took on the offensive. Death thrusted the handle of his scythe into Ein's torso and he doubled over in pain. Death seizing the opportunity, swung his scythe and wounded him in the back again. Ein was approaching his limit and was now kneeling before Death.

"Is this all you have, Angel? You are no match for me!" exclaimed Death.

Death pushed Ein with a great amount of force from the handle of his scythe. Ein was sent flying past Serene and into a pillar. The girls screamed in horror as Ein was now bleeding from the back of his head. Ein was still conscious and managed to move his hands, one holding his diviner, the other held Serene's pendant. Ein didn't have enough strength to stand up so he collapsed to the ground and crawled his way to Serene. With his last ounce of strength, Ein placed the pendant around Serene's neck. Death now approached the girls who were still trapped in the magic circle. He cocked his head towards Ein.

"Pathetic angel, did you really think you could beat me? I'll let you have the honour of seeing your friends die in front of your eyes!" taunted Death.

Serene was standing in a snowfield, the snow falling rapidly. The air was cold and the wind had picked up again. She looked around and cried out for anyone, but no response. She was getting lonely so she trudged through the snow hoping to find some sign of her friends. Time had passed ever so slowly for Serene as she soldiered on. She wanted to find someone, anyone that she recognised, even if it was Lina. A dark shadowy figure appeared before her in the misty field. She ran towards it, desperately hoping it was Ein. The mist was slowly clearing and it became clear that this person had wings. As Serene got closer, she realised who it was.

"Malice..." Serene said, "You, you will suffer for what you did to the Arcs!" Serene drew her scythe but Malice only laughed.

"You can't kill someone that's already dead, you silly sprite. Besides, I have no intention of fighting. I have seen the error of my ways and now it is time to pay back the debt I owe. There is someone important that you must save, that Grim Angel you call Ein. He and your friends are about to die, and all you want is revenge?" Malice cackled.

"...What? You must be lying." she replied.

"Then, what would you do when you find all of your friends are dead?" retorted Malice.

"I...I don't know what to do..." said a depressed Serene.

"If you truly want to save your friends, then let me join your body. The Accursed will defeat you with ease just like he did with Ein, unless you accept my help." explained Malice.

"...Very well. I accept. If it's to save my friends, then I will do anything." said Serene.

"Wise choice. Now you will be reunited with the material world, with me as a part of you."

Malice held up her diviner, Skadi and both of them were enveloped in a bright light.

The Grim Reaper swung his scythe to deliver the final blow. Cierra, Lina and Fia closed their eyes, expecting death. For an eternity, the three of them waited for the cold grip of death to envelop them, but it didn't come. They opened their eyes to find a blue scythe preventing the final blow from Death. The Accursed looked to his left to find Serene holding it back with her own scythe. She looked up into the Accursed's cold, glowing red eyes and smirked.

"Ah, ah, ah! You didn't say please." said Serene in a satirical tone.

"You foolish sprite, do you think that you can stop me?" questioned Death.

Serene now revealed Einherjar, which was now glowing a bright blue. Serene forced the diviner into Death's arm which was holding the scythe. Death yelled in pain as the holy blade burned him from the inside.

"Very much so." she replied.

Serene could feel the spirit of Malice empower her and she held her scythe to her side, ready to attack. Death managed to remove the holy blade from his arm and threw it to the ground, disgusted that he was wounded by such a cheap tactic. Serene's scythe was now glowing a bright blue, its hue blinding the others. The wind was blowing wildly and Death's black, tattered cloak was flowing with it. Serene's eyes were now focused on destorying the being which threatened them and Riviera.

"Here's my trump card...Absolute Zero!"

Serene swung her scythe and blocks of ice appeared from under the grim reaper. The ice blocks resembled that of a dragon, seeking vengeance as the ice blocks rose above. The ice dragons then crashed down below and held down the Grim Reaper's arms in place. She dashed at Death at such a speed that even Fia could not see her movements. She gasped at the increase of speed Serene had acquired. She swung her scythe a multitude of times at the Accursed in all directions. Death howled in pain from each blow that connected, powerless to prevent the assault. He could feel the coldness of Serene's scythe, the anger which it contained, pierce his body as it burned him painfully. Serene concentrated her power and will into one final blow. She could feel Malice's spirit helping her achieve the power needed to do so.

"...This power...Another grim angel?" The Grim Reaper thought. "No, that's impossible! This being is neither sprite nor grim angel."

Serene swung her scythe with all her might and the Accursed was engulfed in a tower of freezing flames. As the flames rose higher, everything around Death stopped, as if it were a temporal leak in space, freezing the very matter of the material world to a standstill. Serene then unleashed her fury upon Death. Each blow felt as if the essence of time was fading away from Death. The Accursed howled one last time before disappearing from the material world. The pillar of fire and blocks of ice faded as fast as they had appeared.

The magic circle which trapped the others disappeared. Everyone jumped up to hug Serene for not only saving them, but also ultimately saving Riviera as well. Serene turned to look back at Ein who had managed to stagger to his feet, giving her a thumbs up. Serene quickly rushed towards Ein to help support him.

"Serene...how did..." Ein whispered.

"Let's just say that it was an old friend that helped me." Serene quickly replied.

"Serene...I..." Ein stuttered Ein couldn't stand it any longer. He wrapped his arms around Serene and gently kissed her.

"Serene...I...I thought that I'd lose you...I just wanted to say that I..." Ein continued with tears running down his cheeks.

"Ein...I know. No words can possibly express our love." Serene quickly interjected.

"Lina is hungry! I wanna go home!" Lina cried out, breaking the atmosphere completely.

"Yes, let's go back to Elendia." giggled Cierra knowing all well what Lina had spoiled.

The five of them went back to Elendia and explained to everyone what had happened. Everyone was shocked at first at how the Accursed managed to come back but when they heard the part of how Serene had obliterated Death, everyone cheered for her.

"Cierra, did you manage to finish the experiment on the fireworks?" Soala asked.

"Yes I did, and now I think it would be a great idea to use them tonight!" Cierra replied with joy.

Night time approached as the full moon reached its zenith. The stars blanketed the sky with shining lights, guiding the way to the gods. Ein and Serene were at the Grove of Repose, sitting on a tree stump together, alone. Ein had one arm around Serene whilst Serene wrapped around Ein with both her arms, gazing upon the beautiful painting in the sky.

"Serene, when you were down, did my potion help you at all?" questioned Ein.

"Yeah it did, the bitterness of it really gave a good wake up call." joked Serene.

"...Ah, you're so mean Serene..." he replied.

"Ein, I have to tell you something." she said.

"What is it?" questioned Ein.

"The power that you saw today...it was because of Malice..." answered Serene.

"...Malice?" exclaimed Ein.

"She said something about repaying a debt, and now, her spirit is inside me. I can feel Malice's intentions are purely good and that she wishes for you to forgive her Ein, for what she did to Ledah." Serene explained.

Ein thought back to the moment when Ledah had taken Malice's final blow which was intended for him. Even after he and Ledah fought for what they thought was right, he still saved him, at the cost of his own life. The thought of someone giving up their emotions in order to obtain their diviner, a majestic weapon of the Grim Angel which contained great power, was impossible for Ein to take in. Even if it did happen, he remembered that moment before Ledah disappeared. That single tear which trickled down from Ledah's cheek was all that was needed to signify that Ledah had regained what he had lost.

"...Ein? Are you ok? Serene questioned. Ein hadn't answered for a while as he was reliving that horrific moment.

"...I could never forgive Malice for what she has done to Ledah..." he finally replied, holding back his tears.

"I know Ein; it's hard to accept what she has done." Serene said in a comforting tone.

"It's just...I don't understand why you forgive her! She destoryed your home, your family, your life!" he exclaimed.

"Ein...it's not as complicated as you think." she said calmly.

"Then why? I thought you hated Malice and swore to avenge the Arcs if you ever saw her again, even if it was in the afterlife!" Ein cried out, with tears now pouring down his cheeks.

"Yes, I know. But there was something far more important..." Serene dragged on.

"Serene..."

At the Undine Springs; Cierra, Fia and Lina were carrying boxes filled with fireworks. They took out the fireworks and placed them on the ground, setting them upright. Using her fire magic, Cierra lit the fuses on the fireworks. Everyone else took cover in fear of Cierra causing another chaotic event, but then gazed skywards as the fireworks successfully rocketed into the air. They exploded into beautiful colours which lit up the night sky brighter than the stars themselves. Ein and Serene sat on the tree stump gazing at the beautiful scenery which was being placed. They stared into each other's eyes before finally kissing each other passionately on the lips. Shortly after, the explosions of the fireworks had died down as Ein and Serene walked towards the Undine Springs to join the others.


End file.
